HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: The creative team over at Nike really went into overdrive on their love of bamboo on this one. Did we mention the KD logo on the outsole is derived from the Chinese character for bamboo?

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: I was reminiscing about the days shoes only cost $200. Yikes!

Has basketball fans and sneaker heads it's easy for us to get caught up in the freshness of new kicks and ignore pricetags. Well, the Wall Street Journal never ignores money and this week they put out an article analysing the cost of kicks, especially a recent spike in Nike's prices. The first image below is probably the most telling. It's a cost and inflation adjusted chart of the price of sneakers. This means the WSJ factored in everything else that would affect the cost of these kicks and with all other things considered, Nike is simply charging much more for sneakers these days than in the past.

This is obviously seen in the new LeBron X kick that will retail for around $315, but is also impacting more affordable shoes like Chuck Taylors that went now go for $50 a pop (up from $45 last year). Analysists believe Nike is raising its' prices 5-10% across the board on most of its sneakers hoping the brand's popularity will overcome this price increase.

Nike is "not arbitrarily taking up prices," said spokeswoman Mary Remuzzi. "We are constantly looking at ways to enhance the product line with new innovation and product attributes."

Other brands are following suit too. adidas' signature basketball shoes are up 8% and their soccer cliets are up 15%. So much for prices coming down since we're in a recession. So much for companies feeling the pain the average American household and adjusting their absurdly expensive shoes.

This is capitalism 101. If they can bleed the money out of the basketball fans they'll do it. Don't expect these pricees to come down any time soon. People are still lining up around the corner for the top brands. Oh, and Nike stocks have soared to a near all-time highs this year peaking at $114.81 and curretnly hovering at a towering $95.77. At least the recesion is good for someone. LIke Nike says, "Just Do It," although now I think that more closely means "Just Make a Profit."